Chapter 54: Hit the target with one shot

Chapter 54: Hit the target with one shot

October in Kyoto was still far from the time when one could hear the footsteps of spring approaching.

But even so, the current weather was just too much.

Thick clouds blanketed the night sky, hiding the stars. Fierce winds churned the air violently, pouring down rain that echoed ominously throughout the city.

The temperature even dropped abnormally midway, turning the rain into snow. The storm became a blizzard in an instant, covering Kyoto in white and transforming it into the realm of a winter queen.

People stayed indoors, cursing the unpleasant weather.

The city had inexplicably entered a state of "no one allowed outside at night," enforced with political authority. Yet for many people in the modern economy, they needed to be out at this hour to make a living.

They didn't know someone was actually saving their lives. Naturally, they were also cursing the wrong target.

At this moment, the very cause of all this chaos was fiercely battling someone in the center of the blizzard, their fighting spirit blazing.

The canyon had been leveled. Two godslayers were confronting each other. Wind and clouds swirled violently around them, and thunder, rain, and snow originated from this very place.

Voban stared directly at Hikigaya, a numb sensation still lingering in his right arm.

Despite having the advantage in physical strength, Hikigaya Hachiman had outmatched him in technique. As a result, during their first close-range clash, the outcome had seemed even. The explosion of power separated them, destroying the canyon and the floodwaters rampaging through it.

Without the canyon's constraints or further reinforcement, the flood soon dispersed, either flowing into cracks in the earth or dissipating with distance.

But more than that, what caught Voban's attention was the change in Hikigaya at that very moment.

As a wielder of storms, he could keenly sense the movement of the atmosphere. His over three hundred years of battle experience made his skills comparable to those of gods.

This was the essential difference between raw power and refined technique.

Even for a godslayer, it was difficult to walk both paths simultaneously. One had to choose between the two, as both had their strengths without a clear superiority.

At that moment, through the disturbance in the atmosphere, Voban instantly sensed the change in Hikigaya — it was a different kind of wind power from his own.

"Made progress, have you?" After a chain of fierce battles, Voban spoke again, breaking the silence between them.

"Just in time, really. Once you've lived as long as I have, that feeling becomes harder to come by."

Though his expression remained unchanged, his tone carried a trace of emotion.

But Hikigaya had no leisure to respond.

He was rejoicing over mastering a new power.

He had finally grasped the wind.

Facing Voban's storm head-on triggered his absurd godslayer evolution again, awakening the storm power of Set.

Though not entirely unexpected — after all, this was his third god-slaying — he was starting to get used to leveling up randomly.

Old man Voban really was the rookie's best friend. In the anime, he even helped Kusanagi Godou awaken his lightning authority via electrotherapy. Now, he'd helped Hikigaya awaken the power of the storm.

Gotta say, when it comes to whipping up storms, Uncle Set fears no one. His prowess is on par with Uncle Osiris' flooding abilities — both are pro-level.

Around Hikigaya, a vortex formed centered on him, and in an instant it became a tornado.

First to be swept away was Voban's wind, then everything else.

Anything touched by it was instantly shredded to dust.

With such a wind protecting him, the raging storm summoned by Voban could no longer directly affect Hikigaya.

But that was all — because Hikigaya soon discovered that his wind couldn't actually erase Voban's wind. Just as he was unaffected by Voban's wind, Voban was similarly immune to his.

He later realized that this wasn't because his wind was weaker than Voban's.

Regardless, Voban's storm was now useless against Hikigaya. That terrifying windstorm was like a breeze to both of them. They stood effortlessly, gazing at each other through the roaring tempest.

"Well then, I suppose it's my turn to go on the offensive?"

Voban chuckled, raising a hand and pointing at Hikigaya.

"Since you can use wind now, let's see if you can awaken lightning too."

Before the words finished, a massive bolt of lightning crashed from the sky. The howling winds had no effect on it whatsoever.

Its power and precision far surpassed previous strikes — those earlier ones now seemed like random discharges by comparison.

Which, frankly, they were.

Voban was a master of storms and lightning. To him, the two were one and the same.

Most of the time, he didn't aim lightning strikes by sight, but by sensing air currents.

This gave his lightning frightening accuracy.

Yet, just before the lightning hit, Hikigaya dodged.

And he finally understood why thunder was considered one of the gods' most powerful weapons in mythology.

This kind of power was fundamentally different from fire, water, or wind.

The lightning hadn't struck him directly — but only just.

It hit right by his feet, then exploded like a cannon shell.

Hikigaya, being that close, couldn't dodge completely. Lightning's speed was divine, something he currently lacked the ability to contend with.

He felt his body go numb in an instant, and his vision flickered like a fast-forwarded and rewound video. When his senses returned, he realized he had been blasted over ten meters away.

In that moment, he felt like a stampede of ten thousand alpacas had trampled through his mind.

Like, seriously, wasn't the lightning in the anime kinda lame? Kusanagi Godou could dodge it crawling on all fours, and getting hit near the feet didn't even do anything.

Now he really wanted to chat with the anime production team about affordable coffins — or maybe Kusanagi wasn't even human but actually a Devilukean alien.

Honestly, god slayer bodies were insanely resilient. Even when filled to the brim with life light, taking a direct hit from a bucket-thick bolt of lightning only knocked him out for a few seconds before he bounced back up.

Though for a moment there… he thought he smelled grilled meat wafting off his body.

Yeah, probably just his imagination.

Another flash overhead. Now wiser, Hikigaya leapt far away. As expected, a bolt struck where he had just stood, exploding rocks and earth — only then did the thunder roll in, like a Hollywood cop showing up fashionably late.

Still, Hikigaya knew he couldn't stay on the defensive. The lightning strikes were coming faster and heavier. Sooner or later, he wouldn't be able to escape. Even with his absurd durability, each hit hurt — and worse, consumed precious life light.

And it was night now — no sun to recharge him.

After dodging another bolt, he locked onto Voban's location, kicked off with swift footwork, and charged at incredible speed.